Cultural studies perspective

After reviewing chapter 2, I noticed that there wasn't much covered about the cultural studies perspective. Culture has been a key element to our discussions about communication, and I found this perspective to be one of the most important in understanding communication and power. Most of us in college have heard about media influence on our lives, but what caught my eye about this theory was when the text stated

According to them, cultures are constituted through a particular set of discursive
acts. Any given culture is, in fact, a web of interconnected acts of communication,
all of which carry meaning, much of which lies below the surface. These texts play off
of one another, as collective beliefs and experiences move from one medium to
another. Because they are linked to social forces such as capitalism, patriarchy,
racism, colonialism, and so on, texts exert power over the people who consume
them (p. 36, para. 1)

We have discussed mediums, and some of the ways that communication occurs through mediums. Television, the internet, and radio are a few, and sometimes the messages that are sent through these mediums do not have obvious power relations. The media is also monopolized into very few owners who hold the power to shape collective beliefs. Power relations exist with a sense of invisibility which cause the oppression of certain groups. In my other online class we discussed how a TIME magazine cover of OJ Simpson was photo shopped in order to darken his skin color. In turn, this cover increased the chance that the public would view him as more of a villain, and TIME was later called out on their alterations to OJ's skin color. Newsweek posted the original mug shot of OJ Simpson, and it was clear that TIME magazine had changed the photograph in order to make OJ look darker. Such a powerful magazine exerted their power in order to play on racist beliefs and to further villainize OJ. There isn't a doubt in my mind that OJ was a murderer, but the fact that TIME darkened his skin color for their magazine, thinking nobody would ever know, illustrates some invisible power relations.